Change is
by ambient eyes
Summary: Further summary inside but starts out with a bit of RonHermione but ends up being, well, basically Hermioneeveryone. Who will Hermione end up with? And do some people change for love? There's a lot of sex and drugs
1. It Begins

Well, hi. This is my first fanfic, so be kind! It starts out a bit slow but, trust me, it will become more interesting as the story progresses. I have great ideas for this :) So read and, hopefully, enjoy!

Summary: _Begins with Hermione waking up to find out that she had slept the previous night with Ron. Not wanting to break his heart, she tries to convince herself that she has feelings for him. One day, none other than Blaise Zambini finds her crying out of frustration and takes her to a party so she can "have some fun." Hermione sees Draco there and is attracted to his independent, un-needy, bad-boy nature (the complete opposite of Ron). This fic involves a lot of drugs and sex._

Diclaimer: I own none of the characters you recognize, those came from Ms. JK Rowling's brilliant mind. So, with that said, no sueing allowed!!

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Chapter 1: _The Beginning_

"'Mione!"

Hermione Granger woke with a start. "Go away," she murmured tiredly. She turned around and attempted to move closer to the wall to get away from whoever was trying to wake her up. As soon as she became comfortable again and started to drift back to sleep, someone placed their cold hand on her shoulder and she jumped.

_'Who the fuck won't leave me alone,'_ she thought angrily. Hermione turned around roughly, and when she saw who it was trying to wake her up all this time, the memories of last night came flooding back into her mind. _'Shit! What'd I get myself into?'_

Before she could speak, Ron Weasley gently pressed his lips upon hers. Hermione froze, not knowing what to do. '_How could I be so reckless? He's my best friend and if I tell him it was all a mistake he would be heartbroken. But,'_ she thought, _'if I lead him on my life will be ruined and I could no longer talk to him truthfully. I would lose a friend either way_.'

She pulled back and when she saw his smiling face, she sighed. "Tired, are you," Ron asked innocently. Hermione closed her eyes and nodded in response. She just wanted to go back to sleep and never have to wake up to this dilemma. **Ever.**

"Aww, well as much as I would love spending all day sitting in this exact spot watching you sleep," Ron explained with no sarcasm whatsoever in his voice, "we have to get ready. The train leaves in about two hours." Ron stood up, expecting Hermione to follow his example. She didn't.

"Umm... Ron? About last night," Hermione started. But she couldn't finish. As soon as she got the word "night" out of her mouth, Ron's face immediately fell. "I knew it was too good to be true," he muttered.

Hermione felt a sudden stab of guilt. She couldn't bear to be the cause of pain-- to anyone, not only Ron. She's always been like that and she cursed that damned conscience of hers. "Wait, Ron," Hermione yelled out as he began walking towards the door, "You didn't let me finish."

"Don't, please. Save me the humiliation," Ron replied melancholy.

"No, no! Please, Ron! Just listen! I was just going to say that it's amazing to be with you," Hermione said, trying to make herself believe that those words were truly the ones going to come out of her mouth in the first place.

Ron looked at her beaming. "Oh, Hermione," he sighed. Hermione managed a weak smile, but Ron didn't seem to notice the difference between a genuine smile and a weak one at that point. He quickly ran over to her and leaned in to give her a kiss, but Hermione turned her head away so his lips ended up hitting her cheek. "Morning breath," she explained as she quickly searched for a way to get him to leave her alone and not expect more kisses that morning. "Did you say that we have only two hours until the train leaves? I better get ready then. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. After all, the Head Girl needs to look ready to take on the new year," Ron winked and walked out of the room to let Hermione get ready. There was a definite spring in his step that morning.

As soon as he closed the door to the room Mrs. Weasley allowed Hermione to call her own for the past week that she had stayed at the Burrow, she pulled the covers up over her head and moaned a, **"What the hell am I going to do now?"**

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Draco Malfoy woke with a start to a barely audible knock on his door. _'How many times do I have to tell those bloody, good-for-nothing house elves that those kind of knocks scare the fuck out of me?!'_ he thought angrily, but as soon as he realized what he had admitted to himself, he shook his head and sighed. _'What has gotten into you, Draco? Absolutely NOTHING scares you. Those knocks are just obnoxious. Simple as that.'_ He rolled out of bed and smirked, satisfied with his rational.

The knock came again. "Yes?" his voice drawled out.

"Master Malfoy, Sir. Huey has come to kindly wake you up and let you know that the train for Hogwarts is going to leave in two hours, Sir," the newest addition to the Malfoy Manor house elves stated.

Draco closed the door on the elf, letting him know that he understood. _'God, it gets annoying listening to them talk in third-person.'_ And with that final thought, he quickly got ready. He wanted to spend some time with his mother before he left.

Narcissa Malfoy had become a lot more loving towards her son since his father died. In spite of everything his father had taught him in the first seventeen years of his life, he rather enjoyed it. In fact, a lot of the things his father had taught him seemed to die with him. He shrugged and headed down the stairs, telling the first house elf he came across to pack his things for Hogwarts (unfortunately, his feeling that he was better than most of people in the world still stayed with him).

When he arrived in the dining room, his mother quickly stood up and rushed over to give him a hug. She had tears in her eyes. "There, there, Mother," he said consolingly, "I'm just going to school. I'll send you loads of owls and, if it makes you feel any better," he continued with a smile on his face, "you can always send me gifts." He finished his sentence with a wink.

"Oh, Draco," Narcissa exclaimed, "I can't help but think that because this is your last year at Hogwarts and you'll be graduating, you won't find a reason to return to me. What if you don't even have time for me during the school year? What with your Head Boy duties and all," Narcissa let out a sob.

"Such foolishness," Draco replied softly hugging her tighter, "As much as you may try, you'll never be able to get me out of your hair." With that reassurance, Narcissa stood up straight and wiped away her tears. She smiled brightly at her son before she went to sit back down at the table.

As they were eating the elegantly prepared breakfast, Narcissa told her son, "I expect a full report from you! Don't leave your dear mother in the dark." She chuckled and continued, "Especially about girls." Draco abruptly looked up at his mother and choked on his pumpkin juice. He couldn't stem the blush that quickly overtook his pale cheeks.

His mother smiled saying, "Yes, of course. I have to make sure that they're good enough for my son, Draco Malfoy." She winked and went back to her breakfast.

Draco was absolutely shocked. No one had ever talked to him about, let alone mention, his love life before. Actually, you couldn't even call it a "love life." A more truthful way of saying it would be all the sluts that had thrown themselves at him. He couldn't possibly tell his mother about them! The closest he came to a relationship was with Pansy Parkinson, but that ended horribly when he found out that she was cheating on him with a whole string of guys. It wasn't like he didn't have his extra girls on the side, but he actually kind of felt something for her.

Draco quickly shook Pansy from his mind as he searched to come up with a girl worthy of telling his mother about. After about five minutes, he came to a girl who marched to the beat of her own drums; was brilliant and hardworking; loyal to her friends but stood up for what she believed was right. Not to mention that she definitely could stand up for herself-- something he experience first hand (literally) in their third year. "Hermione." The name softly slipped out of his mouth without him even knowing.

"What was the, honey?" his mother asked him looking up.

"Huh? What? OH, n-n-nothing," he stammered. "I was just commenting on the freshness of this pumpkin juice. It's amazing."

Narcissa nodded and smiled at her son, leaving him to think that she didn't hear 'Hermione' come out of his mouth. She knew very well who Hermione was and, quite honestly, she hoped that some sort of relationship would blossom between them. She sighed a happy sigh and went back to her breakfast.

Draco, on the other hand, started to mentally slap himself. _'What the fuck, how could I think of that mudblood in any other way than a-a bushy-haired, know-it-all mudblood. That's all she is,' _he thought, disgusted with himself.

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Please review and tell me if anyone is actually reading this, because what's the point of going on with this if I don't even have an audience?

Thanks!


	2. To Each, Their Own

What's sad is that I only received ONE review (but thanks medieval warrior, that meant a lot!). Even if you think I shouldn't continue with the story, tell me! I accept any reviews, even flames.

Alright, so here's the second chapter! Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you have read or seen in the Harry Potter books/movies.

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Chapter 2: To each, their own  
  
Right as Hermione was walking down the path to Mr. Weasley's newest car that the twins had bought him-- with just a small fraction of what they were earning monthly from their joke shop-- she suddenly remembered that Fred still had her locket with the pictures of Harry and Ron that she had took from her digital camera that her aunt had bought her for her birthday. As she was explaining the fact for what seemed like the hundredth time that muggle photographs do not move, he shook his head refusing to believe her, determined to prove her wrong.  
  
"Hold on, I forgot something. It won't take but a minute," she yelled out to everyone piling in the enchanted car. She ran up quite a bit of sets of stairs until she reached Fred and George's room. She knocked on the door to avoid barging in on them getting dressed. A giggle escaped her as she thought of their reactions, not to mention what she would see.   
  
Because no one seemed to be up, she decided just to go in. The door was locked. _'Perfect, I'm in a fucking hurry and their door is locked,'_ she thought, greatly annoyed with the problem.  
  
Hermione quickly whispered an, "Alohamora," and the door swung open. Despite how softly she hoped the door would open, it hit loudly against the wall. Hermione cringed, waiting for the twins and Lee, who was staying the night, to yell at her. When she realized there was no yelling going on, let alone any movement whatsoever, she looked around the room more closely.  
  
They were still asleep! The door didn't even shake them! _'Insane,'_ she thought, amazed at how deeply one could sleep.  
  
As she moved into the room further, searching for her locket, she was disappointed to find it carelessly tossed on the floor. When she bent over to pick it up, she spotted, "a pipe." She breathed the words out as she stepped back.  
  
"Bloody hell," a voice yelled out in pain. Hermione quickly looked down and as soon as she realized she was stepping on Fred's hand, she jumped to the side.  
  
"I'm sorry," she managed to choke out, still in shock from her earlier discoveries. She looked back over the the pipe. 

Following Hermione's eyes, Fred sighed. "Hermione, please. Owning your own business at such a young age can be so stressful and this just--," he stopped explaining himself as he realized the unusual quietness and the thoughtful look on her face. "To each, their own. Right Hermione?" Fred asked her, looking into her eyes for just a bit of acceptance.

Hermione thought a bit. Normally, she would've immediately lectured him and even would've considered going to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to fill them in on their sons hobbies. But something seemed to have changed in her. It didn't bother her as much as it would've.

"I guess so," she replied, still eyeing the pipe. She broke out of her reverie only a moment later when Fred laughed in relief and pulled her down to the ground into a hug. "I like the way you've grown up," he said, winking at her.

She smiled at him, and when she felt her watch digging into her wrist she quickly got up and gasped, "Oh no! I'm keeping the rest waiting. I just came in to get my locket."

"Oh," Fred replied, sporting a playful pout. "So you didn't come to say goodbye to me, then? It's OK, I suppose. I guess I understand."

"Fred, Fred," was all Hermione could say. She shook her head, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and proceeded to walk out the door.

"And about that locket of yours," Fred called out as she was closing the door, "take a look at it and try to tell me again that you can't make muggle pictures move!" She opened it and was surprised to see that the pictures were indeed moving. In disbelief, she looked at it closer. "How did you... impossible... how...," she stammered out as he just stared at her, obviously proud of himself. But then she noticed that the pictures were different, Ron and Harry both were wearing different clothes.

"Fred," Hermione said in a voice that let him know that she figured it out.

"How the hell did you figure that out?" This time it was his turn to be in disbelief.

"Different clothes, Fred, different clothes," she said smiling.

As she began walking down the stairs, she heard him say more to himself than her, "Only a girl would notice **that**." Hermione chuckled and remembering where she was supposed to be, ran the rest of the way to the car.

'And how could they so carelessly leave that kind of stuff laying around? Mrs. Weasley could come in at any moment!' The thought entered Hermione's head as soon as she saw Mrs. Weasley motioning her to hurry up.

"We're running five minutes late, dear," Mrs. Weasley let her know. "I'm so sorry," Hermione replied, hurrying into the car next to-- Ron. Hermione sighed as he immediately put his arm around her, and when she looked up into his beaming face, she smiled one of those weak smiles back at him.

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Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny were sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. The train left Platform 9 3/4 about five minutes ago, and during those five minutes that particular compartment had been dead silent.

Ron broke the silence saying, "Sad, isn't it? This is the last time leaving our parents behind while we board the Hogwarts Express."

"Yeah. And just think, everything we do from now on is pretty much going to be our last: last time we arrive there, last time we have our first meal of the year there, last time for that particular date there..." Harry added in sadly. "Ginny, you have to promise me to make your last two years the best they can possibly be. No regrets, you hear me?"

Ginny nodded her head, already being saddened by the depressed mood everyone else felt.

Hermione all of the sudden jumped up. "Oh, you guys. I really wish that I could spend our last travels to Hogwarts with you but being Head Girl, it's mandatory for me to sit in the Head compartment," Hermione let them know, with regret apparent in her voice.

As she was leaving, she got pulled back into the arms of Ron. "'Mione, can't I come with you? After all," he whispered nuzzling into her neck, "we are a bit, you know, attached."

Hermione gave him a look of utter shock. _'Attached? Me and him? No, no. This isn't good.'_

Ron, mistaking the look on her face as thinking about it, smiled and pressed on, "Do you think?"

"Ron," she began slowly, trying to figure out something she could say that wouldn't sound suspicious, "you know the rules. Ah, I'm running late! I can't have them think that I'm not even capable of showing up on time. On the first day, even!" With that, she hastily ran out of the compartment.

His words kept running through her head. _Attached... Attached... Attached._..

When she reached the Head compartment, she shook her head to compose herself before she stepped in. When she stepped into the slightly larger compartment, she was greeted immediately by Professor McGonagle. "There's our new Head Girl," she said proudly. "I hope your summer holiday went well." She threw a quick glance at her watch. "Our Head Boy still isn't here. Hermione, could you go find Mr. Malfoy and bring him back here."

At Hermione's shocked expression, the professor went on saying, "Yes, yes. He's the Head Boy." Hermione swallowed and nodded, setting of to find Malfoy.

'Why did this come as a shock? Of course it would be Malfoy. It's not like I didn't know the only one I was competing with grade-wise throughout my years at Hogwarts was Malfoy. Pull yourself together! Now where would that arrogant ass be?'

Hermione walked down the length of the train, checking each compartment quickly. She heard some loud music playing from one, and was about to go in to not only check for Malfoy, but tell them to turn it down. As she put her hand out to open the compartment, she heard a voice drawl, "Mudblood, don't even think about stepping in there."

Hermione recognized the voice as Malfoy's and her eyes narrowed at his order. She immediately opened the compartment door and walked in, just to spite him.

It took her almost a minute for her mind to register what she saw. She was so astonished that they actually were doing that kind of stuff on the train-- the **school** train.

There was a group of students, mostly from older classes, from all four houses sitting around. There was a bottle of what looked like Vodka being handed between people and some students were smoking pipes while others were in possession of bongs. Hermione recognized some were handing out cigarettes and others passed around joints.

Malfoy cleared his throat. Everyone turned to him and were as shocked to see Hermione as she was to see them. Everyone was speechless, wondering, and scared of, what the teacher's pet was going to do.

The same thing that passed through Hermione's mind earlier in the day when she walked into Fred and George's room ran through her mind again. But then, like in Fred's situation, she didn't seem to care as much. _'I don't even care for these people half as much as I do Fred so... whatever, I guess.'_

She shrugged her shoulders, accompanied by a look that showed that she was indifferent about the situation. Suddenly, she recognized the music being played. "Hey, This Providence," she exclaimed, excited about other people listening to her favorite band.

Everyone let out a huge sigh of relief. "Aye, Granger! That's the spirit," Seamus called out from the back corner of the compartment. Hermione smiled at him, "Hi Seamus, good holiday?" He nodded.

Everyone picked up on where they left off but a boy with black, shaggy hair that covered his eyes stepped up to Hermione. He was wearing a tight This Providence band tee along with girl pants accompanied by a studded belt. Blushing, she looked down and noticed that on his feet were black, beat up Chucks. "You like This Providence," the boy asked. "Definitely," Hermione responded, still unable to look at him eye to-- uhh, hair.

"Good taste, Granger."

Hermione jerked her head up. _'How could he possibly know my name? I've never even met him before!'_

Seeing the confusion in her eyes, the boy laughed. "You don't remember me. Didn't expect as much."

"Sorry..." Hermione said, trying desperately to remember him. After all, she wouldn't forget a boy like him. That's for sure.

"Blaise Zambini," he informed her. She shook her head and he continued, "I went to Hogwarts my first year. I was in Slytherin and for my second year I then transferred to Durmstrang and well, after the recent events my parents decided I should come back to Hogwarts. Here I am."

Hermione searched her memory. "Oh, yes! Blaise Zambini, I remember now. But you looked much different then..."

Blaise smiled at her. She liked his smile. A lot. She could've stared at it all day, but Malfoy broke her away from her reverie.

"Granger, was there something you needed," he sneered.

"Huh? OH, yes. Since your Head Boy, you need to be in the Head compartment," she said, reminded of her duties also. "How irresponsible can you get, Malfoy? Not even showing up on time for your first day of duties!"

With that said, the people in the compartment suddenly panicked. Seamus was the first to speak, "Uhh.. Hermione? You're not, you know, going to mention this to anyone. Are you?"

She noticed the shakiness in his voice. She inwardly smiled at the power she had over them, but shook the thought out of her head almost as soon as it entered. She winked at Seamus and walked out, dragging Malfoy along with her.

Blaise called out after her, "You're alright, Granger. I'll be seeing you around, then?"

Hermione flashed him a bright smile, letting him know that he definitely would be seeing her around.

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_'The nerve of him. The nerve of HER. Blaise showed interest in the mudblood and I clearly detected her showing interest back. Standing there, smiling at each other like a couple of house elves,'_ Draco thought angrily, or was it jealously? 

"What the hell has gotten into you, Granger," Draco asked the mudblood he had known for so many years, yet never really knew her.

Hermione shrugged. "What," she asked, "Would you rather have me ratted them all out?"

Draco just stared back at her.

"Thought so," Hermione said, finishing the little discussion.

Draco followed her to the Head compartment, staring at her back the whole time thinking, _'She's changed. Still a know-it-all mudblood, but now she's a feisty one at that. She likes This Providence, so that adds to the coolness factor, and the biggest change of all: she didn't seem to bothered by the compartment she walked into. I thought she was going to freak and automatically tell, but I was wrong...'_

All of the sudden, Draco stopped moving. He spotted Pansy in one of the compartments, talking with Millicent. Hermione must've noticed the lack of steps behind her, because she stopped also and turned around. "Draco, come on! We're late as it is," she called out to him, very much annoyed.

He didn't seem to hear her so she walked over to him and was about to pull him back into motion when she realized that he was staring at someone in an un-Malfoy-like manner. Following his gaze, her eyes landed on Pansy Parkinson.

'I can't believe it, she doesn't even look phased,' Draco thought sorrowfully. _'Well, that proves it. She never really did care for me.'_

Draco jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. It was Hermione. He quickly got rid of any facial expressions that he was showing.

It was too late; she had already seen his gaze. "She is so- so bloody snobby, ignorant, uncaring, bitchy, daft-- trust me, i could go on for days-- but whatever. To each their own."

She quickly turned around and continued towards the Head compartment. Draco hurried after her, watching her disappear into the room.

'She's right, she IS all those things. Granger isn't though. Definitely not.' He stopped in his tracks and frowned deeply. _'Snap out of it Draco! No more of that! No more,' _he thought, shaking his head as he walked into the Head compartment to get assigned his responsibilities for the year.

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A/N: Yeah... hope you liked it. Review, please, telling me anything: that you liked it, hated it, ideas you have, _anything. _I just want to know if people actually read this... 

also

This Providence is an awesome band and everyone should check them out at Purevolume dot com SLASH thisprovidence (for some reason, it wasn't letting me insert the link..)

3


	3. Just Grow Up, It's the Only Thing Left t...

Hi again! Umm.. yeah, I'm not too proud of this chapter but I was desperate to update before I left for Europe (tomorrow). So enjoy reading, and another update will be in a little over 2 weeks! Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them :) I'm in a bit of a hurry so I won't go through everyone that reviewed, like I would like to, but I just want to say thank you and to orea69not96: no, Hermione is not with Fred. She's just really flirtatious with guys.   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the books... clear it up?  
  
Chapter 3: Just Grow Up, It's the Only Thing Left to Do  
  
The Great Hall was full of students. They were all loudly re-acquainting themselves with their fellow housemates and waiting eagerly for the feast to begin.  
  
Hermione, however, seemed to be very preoccupied. Sitting between Ron and Ginny, and didn't talk much. Her conversations consisted of smiles and one-word comments and responses. She didn't even cheer when first years got sorted into Gryffindor.  
  
Ron, noticing the unusual quietness from his girlfriend and the stiff way she was sitting, began to rub her back. Hermione seemed to have jumped a meter out of her seat. "Ron, oh, sorry I'm just a bit nervous," she explained, still catching her breath from the sudden touch of Ron. 'Although him doing that anytime would make me jump,' she added on in her mind.  
  
"What do you possibly have to be nervous about?" Ron asked while still massaging her, not noticing her wince in pain as he dug his rough fingers too harshly in her back.  
  
"Well, Dumbledore is going to announce the Head Girl and Head Boy any moment now, and he'll ask us to stand," she said. The thought of her standing in front of the whole student body just for them to see who she is was enough to make her throw up.  
  
"That shouldn't make you nervous. You love attention, Hermione! You constantly answer in class."  
  
"I know, but this is different," she said, exasperated.  
  
"I don't see how," Ron pushed on.  
  
"In class," she tried to explain, "I know the answer and I'm sure of myself. Here, I don't know what I'm supposed to do! Do I smile? Wave? Nod? What?"  
  
Ron shrugged as he went back to eating his food, saying, "I don't know what you're going on about, 'Mione. Just do whatever I suppose. No biggie."  
  
'He says we're attached, yet he doesn't even listen.'  
  
Hermione was about to go back to worrying about the announcement when the Great Hall suddenly grew silent as the headmaster stood up. He cleared his throat to get everyones attention, although it was very much unneeded because all eyes were already attentively on him. He smiled as his kind eyes scanned the room.  
  
Last minute thoughts racing through Hermione's head blocked out the usual welcoming from Dumbledore. As she was picturing herself stumbling backwards as she stood up and laughter erupting from every corner of the Great Hall, including Ron and Harry who were clutching their sides and unable to sit up from laughing too hard, Dumbledore's voice broke through. "Our new Head Boy and Girl are Hermione Granger, from Gryffindor, and Draco Malfoy, from Slytherin. If you would please stand up."  
  
Hermione took a deep breath, slowly stood up to make sure she wouldn't fall, and turned around to face all the students. Her eyes immediately fell on the only other person who was standing, Malfoy. She caught his gaze and for some odd reason, the sight of those silvery, almond-shaped eyes were comforting to her.   
  
Her reverie was broken when Ron tugged at her robes. She swiftly sat down and looked down at her plate.  
  
"What were you thinking about?" Ron asked, believing he already knew the answer, "How you're going to hex him first? God, I can't believe you have to share a common room with that git!"  
  
Hermione nodded, not really paying attention to him. She was lost in her thoughts, ignoring the pain of Ron's massage which he started up again. 'What's going on? I hate Malfoy, that arrogant, pure-blooded git! But his eyes, they're so bright. So amazing..."  
  
If she wasn't sitting with her back to the Slytherin table, she would've noticed those amazing, bright silver eyes of Malfoy staring at her for the rest of dinner.  
  
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Draco caught himself thinking that Ron was massaging her all wrong. As he saw her squirm, he itched to get up and shove his hands off of her, replacing them with his own gentler hands.  
  
The way she stared at him when Dumbledore introduced them as the new Heads, like she needed him, tugged on his heart. The feeling was so strange to him, so foreign. 'Did she curse me whilst staring into my eyes? No, no. Of course not, she wouldn't do that. I haven't done anything to upset her so far, or have I?No, I haven't.'  
  
Draco sat through the rest of dinner unable to keep his mind and eyes off of her. He wished she wasn't sitting with her back to him. He wanted to look into her dark brown eyes, almost like his dresser at home. They were a color unknown to the likes of Crayola, but if they made that color, it would without a doubt be a best seller.  
  
As soon as he saw her eyes looking into his own, he knew that he couldn't fight it anymore. She had him under her spell.  
  
People were slowly finishing their dessert and dispersing from the Great Hall. Draco could faintly hear the prefects call out to the first years to follow them. When he saw Hermione rise from he seat, he rose too. He followed her out of the Great Hall and watched from a corner as she hugged Harry and Ron goodbye.   
  
Ron leaned in for a kiss and Draco unconsciously clenched his fists. When Hermione gave him a quick peck on the lips, his fists relaxed.  
  
When the duo walked off, Ron winking at her like a bloody idiot, she headed towards the stairs that lead to the hallway where their painting hung. Draco stepped out of the shadows and caught up to her, saying lazily, "Well that was pathetic."  
  
Hermione looked over at him, a bit shocked to find out someone was near her. When she recognized the person, she demanded, "What was, Malfoy?"  
  
"That kiss," he answered with a smirk on his face. "One would think you two were related."  
  
Hermione sighed. She didn't get all defensive like he thought she would. "It's- it's just that..." She didn't finish her sentence.  
  
"You don't feel the same way about him?" Draco tried.  
  
Hermione looked at Draco carefully, trying to figure out what he was up to. She looked into his eyes and nodded.   
  
When she looked away, she was surprised with herself. 'What am I doing? I can't trust Malfoy!" "What's it to you?" she asked him, sounding a bit on edge.  
  
He shrugged. "Nothing, Granger. Just thought that since we were sharing a common room then we should probably be on friendly terms."  
  
Hermione was shocked. 'Did Malfoy just suggest that we be on friendly terms? I must be going insane!'  
  
It was as if Draco read her mind. "Yes, I know that it might be very unbelievable and quite a shocker to find out that I'm willing to get along with you, but I assure you that it is the truth."  
  
Hermione smirked and said, "Fine. Then I guess you won't object to me choosing the password." Draco was a bit surprised with the suggestion, if one could even call it a suggestion, and tentatively agreed.  
  
Her smirk turned into a bright smile and once again, Draco noticed her remarkable eyes.   
  
"Dan Young," Hermione said.   
  
"What?" Draco asked, very much confused.   
  
"The password," she answered him smugly.  
  
"Come on, Hermione. I said I was going to be on friendly terms with you, but I can't be if you're not on friendly terms with me. That password is not being friendly to me, at all," he pleaded.   
  
"Fine, fine. Gavin Phillips, then."  
  
"That's as fucking bad as Dan Young!"  
  
"Paul Bensen."  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Phil Cobrea."  
  
"Gloria Rodriguez."  
  
"Andrew McMahon."  
  
"Gia Alicia"  
  
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When Draco and Hermione finally agreed on a password, they walked into the common room. "Damn," Draco breathed, looking around the huge room.   
  
Hermione squealed in delight. "Look at this library! It's a sized down replica of the real Hogwarts library!!"  
  
Draco rolled his eyes and ran his hand across the couch, looking into the fireplace. "I approve."  
  
Hermione ran through a door with a sign on it that indicated that it was her room. Draco looked for his and did the same. "Damn!" they both yelled out in unison.  
  
Their rooms were exactly like their old rooms before this year, except that they differed in the fact that these rooms were for one person. Instead of the small bed, there was a huge bed in the middle of the room covered in feather pillows. The rooms were decorated in their house colors with a banner above their door. There was a huge window with a padded bench where you could sit on to look outside next to their small sitting area.  
  
Each room had two doors: one leading to the common room and the other leading to the bathroom. The bathroom was "absolutely amazing." It consisted of a wall length mirror, a huge shower, and an even bigger bathtub. On the shelves around the bathtub was anything you could possibly want to make a relaxing bath. Hermione eyed the bottles and jars blissfully, whispering, "I'll see you guys later," as she followed Draco back into the common room.  
  
Hermione plopped down on the couch, which she soon found out automatically adjusted its firmness to however a person wanted without them actually having to do anything. Draco sat down in one of the armchairs in front of her and closed his eyes, leaning back as far as he could.  
  
Hermione stared at him curiously, as if he was a new creature just discovered in the wild. She stayed quiet while waiting for him to reopen his eyes. She knew he wasn't going to fall asleep there, so she cleared her throat and asked what she had been wanting to know all afternoon. "Draco? What made you change your mind about me?"  
  
He kept his eyes closed. 'Maybe he is sleeping,' Hermione reasoned. After about a minute, me finally penned his eyes. "Well, this is our last year," he slowly stated, avoiding eye contact with her for fear of confessing his feelings, "and I figured, the only thing left to do is just grow up."  
  
That answer was not one that she had expected. But what did she expect? The truth was, she didn't know what to expect so she just accepted that response smiling at him.  
  
Draco, seeing Hermione smile at him like that while her bright eyes flashed, had to do something before he completely melted in the armchair.  
  
As Draco pulled out a CD from his bag laying near the chair and muttered a curse, Hermione's jaw dropped. The intro to Missing Page to Any Romantic Fairy Tale began to play. "You, Draco Malfoy, like This Providence?" Draco nodded.  
  
"Where do you think Blaise got his good taste in music?" Draco couldn't help but laugh as Hermione tried to register the fact that she and Draco had something in common.  
  
Alright well that was the chapter. I'm sorry it wasn't that great, but like I said before, I really wanted to update before I left for Europe. So please review and I promise that next time I will go through each and every one of you individually. You'll hear from me again in just over 2 weeks! :)  
  
Oh yeah, if you haven't already, you really need to check out This Providence. 


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